


Water

by Limpet666



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Blood, Cold Weather, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationship, M/M, almost drowning mention, warm water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 20:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9202679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limpet666/pseuds/Limpet666
Summary: Oswald is lucky to have Zsasz to look after him, and to warm him up when things go pear-shaped.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short inspired by an art prompt.

By the time they got back to Zsasz’s apartment, Oswald was shivering so bad his teeth were clicking. No matter how hard he tried to clench his jaw.

The river had been cold enough, but the night air was bitter, and with no phones, and with any number of eyes looking to recapture them, the journey there had been miserable.

They were both sore and aching from their respective beatings (Oswald’s because he had been the focus of their ire. Zsasz’s because he did everything in his power to provoke them away from his boss) but there had been no time to hang around. Consequently, Zsasz had had to drag Oswald most of the way there.

Not that Oswald was resisting. But he was weak, and exhausted, and his breathing was ragged from nearly drowning in the river.

Once behind the closed door, locked with no less than 5 different mechanisms, Zsasz took Oswald straight to the bathroom. The apartment wasn’t much to look at; run down even. But truthfully Zsasz had any number of other places he slept and ‘worked’, so he only ever came here for recuperation.

And besides, it had hot water. That was all that mattered right now.

He sat Oswald down on the closed lid of the toilet before reaching around to turn the shower on, shutting the bathroom door so the room would warm quicker.

With the adrenaline running through his veins, Zsasz hadn’t felt the chill when he’d been focussed on getting Oswald out of danger. But it was catching up to him now, and his hands were unsteady as he unceremoniously stripped off his soaked clothes, leaving them in a wet pile in the corner.

Oswald had attempted to undo what was let of his ruined clothes, but to little avail, his fingertips numb and hands shaking too much. Crouching before him, Zsasz helped him off with clothes, both of them more than used to eachother’s bodies.

In different circumstances, the prospect of showering together would have been exciting, with the promise of a climactic ending.

Now it was just of the utmost import to get warm before either of them caught their death.

As he gently peeled off Oswald’s clothes with as much haste as the smaller man could manage, Zsasz took stock of his injuries. His boss had definitely received the worst of the treatment; a mixture of bruises, cuts and burns adorning his pale skin. His shoulders and neck had the worst of the cuts, whilst his torso and face suffered the bruises.

Fortunately, there was no injury too serious that Zsasz wouldn’t be able to handle it with his own first aid equipment.

“Okay, get up.” Zsasz took Oswald by the arms and pulled him to his feet, pausing a moment to get the last bits of his clothes off before directing him into the shower. It was a walk-in luckily, because it was doubtful Oswald would have been able to handle climbing into a bath in his current state.

The water felt too hot for their icy skin, and Oswald gasped, stepping back against Zsasz’s chest away from the heat. But after many long seconds, the warmth began to seep in, and Zsasz wrapped his arms around Oswald’s waist when the smaller man relaxed against him.

The water ran murky with blood and grime and river debris for many minutes, and in that time they just stood there, silently digesting the ordeal. At some point Oswald lifted his hand to rest on Zsasz’s arm, cool fingertips tracing the tally scars, the way he liked to do when they were alone and he was deep in thought.

“They’ll pay for this,” Oswald finally said, voice still coarse from coughing up river water.

“Yeah, boss,” Zsasz agreed, lifting a hand to rub at the blood that was still seeping from Oswald’s shoulder.

“They will.”


End file.
